Traveling bag



March 6, 1934. s, H MF1-ON L95,M8

TRAVELI NG BAG Filed Aug. 26, 1931 2 Sheets-Sheet l i, IM V;

FID-5% I T5@ @$540 5o /Oldfif. sa 5gg/W5@ f 5%; 5 T.: zu. INVENTOR 52 Aw 4a 5 S R t (l ,f u u }I1Q Byacrbe `H Lw@ @n l` l l 45 547 E40 (5g 745 ATTORNE Patented Mar. 6, 1934 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE Application August 26,

2 Claims.

This invention relates to the construction of valises, handbags, grips, traveling bags and the like. More particularly, it relates to the construction of a complementary sectioned, elongated traveling bag made of comparatively rigid material such as leather, with hardened back walls thereon, made of wood or other material.

It is a general object of this invention to provide a traveling bag composed of a plurality of complementary interlocking sections.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a traveling bag in which the intermediate interlocking and complementary sections are collapsible.

Another object of the invention is to provide a traveling bag consisting of complementary sections in which the outer sections thereof may be locked together to form a compact carrying unit for the intermediate section.

One further object of the invention is to provide a traveling bag comprising a plurality of complementary sections in which the sides oi the intermediate sections may be collapsed and enclosed between the joined outer sections.

With the above and other objects and features in view, the invention in its preferred embodiments comprises an elongated traveling bag, constituted of a plurality of elongated interlocking complementary sections. The outer sections of the bag are provided with a top and marginal walls extending from the edge thereof, two of the opposing marginal Walls being provided with means for interlocking with an intermediate section or sections. Said intermediate section has front and side walls Whose inner face corresponds with those of the marginal walls of the outer sections, the ends of the opposing side walls of the intermediate sections being connected in hinged relation to the respective ends of the other and opposing walls. One of the walls of the intermediate section is removable from its hinged connection whereby two of the remaining walls can be compactly folded toward the third wall on its ends. One of the walls of said intermediate section is provided on its outer face with a handle for carrying the assembled bag. Furthermore, the intermediate sections are provided on their front sides with interlocking means in alignment with those on the opposing walls of the outer section, whereby one section will be successively interlocked with the next section to form an easily assembled and compactly built bag, consisting of complementary sections.

The invention further consists in the new and novel features of construction and the new and original arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and more particularly set forth in the appended claims.

Referring in detail to the drawings wherein are shown two simple and practical embodiments 1931, Serial No. 559,390

of the invention, and in which similar refery ence characters designate corresponding parts throughout the several views,

Figure 1 is a perspective front View of a traveling bag made in accordance with my invention,

Fig. 2 is a cross sectional view of Fig. 1 looking in the direction of the arrows on line 2 2,

Fig. 3 is a perspective View of the component top, middle and bottom sections of the bag illustrated in Fig. 1,

Fig. 4 is a plan view of the center section shown in Fig. 3,

Fig. 5 is an elevation of Fig. 4 showing the center section of the bag in collapsed form, with one of the walls free,

Fig. 6 is a perspective view of anadditional intermediate section which can be inserted above or below the center section of the bag in Fig. 3,

Fig. 7 is a cross section of the top and bottom sections containing the collapsed forms of the middle and additional intermediate sections shown in Figs. 5 and 6 respectively,

Fig. 8 is a perspective front view of a-modication of Fig. 1,

Fig. 9 is a cross section of Fig. 8 looking in the direction of arrows of line 9-9,

Fig. 10 is a perspective view of the component sections of the bag shown in Fig. 8,'

Fig. 11 is a plan view of the section of the bag shown in Fig. 10,

Fig. 12 is a plan view of the middle section of the bag in collapsed form, with one of the walls free, and

Fig. 13 is a perspective View of an additional intermediate section which may be attached to the center section shown in Fig. 10.

LReferring in detail to Figs. 1 and 7 of the drawings which, for the sake of illustration and clarity, show one of the preferred embodiments of the invention, it will be noted that there are a number of interlocking complementary sections.

While the description of the embodiments deals with a bag or container of parallelogramlike structure, my invention is easily applicable to structures of other shapes or forms. The outer or top section comprises a main flat or top board wall 2O of parallelogramlike outline whose outer surface may be of leather with a hardened background of cardboard and the like such as is commonly used in the manufacture of valises. Depending from the edges of the top wall 20, are the marginal front and rear walls 22 and 24, while marginal side walls 26 and 28 depend from the shorter marginal edges of said top wall 20. The marginal walls are joined together in any suitable manner such as dovetailing or the like whereby to form a compactly made outer section as shown in Fig. 3 of the drawings. The inner faces of the walls 22 and 24 have the hook plates 30, depending therefrom as pairs at spaced intervals and voi in transverse alignment to each other. Said plates contain a slotted portion thereon and are disposed so that the open end of the slot is toward the center of the top wall 20. This section is adapted to be connected to an intermediate or middle section as hereinafter described. Theedge of the marginal walls are cut obliquely upward from the outer face and over to present surfaces intersecting at an oblique angle.

The middle section, referring to Fig. 3, has a front wall 38 with a handle 40 on its outer face and in alignment with the longitudinal axis thereof. The opposite ends of said front wall are connected to the side walls 42 and 44 respectively by means of hinges 43 located at the junction of the inner faces of the side walls 42 and 44 with the inner faces of front wall 88. These front and side walls are preferably premanently hinged, whereas the rear wall 46 is hinged to the ends of the inner faces of side walls 42 and 44 by means of hinge pintle 49. it will be noted that the rear wall 46 can be easily removed by withdrawing the hinge pintle 49, removing the same and then folding the side walls 42 and 44 inwardly against the inner face of the front wall 38. By collapsing the middle section as already indicated, it will be noted that a compacted form will be obtained as shown in Fig. 5. Furthermore, it will be noted that the front and rear walls 38 and 46 respectively are shorter than the length of the respective walls of the outer sections and are joined at their ends by the side walls 42 and 44 in such a manner that the said front and rear walls do not meet them end to end, but are joined away f from the corner edges thereof as shown in Fig. 4.

It is to be further noted that the side walls 42 and 44 are thicker than the front and rear walls 38 and 46, and also that the side, front and rear walls are not hinged in end to end relation. The side walls are hinged on their inside and short of their ends, so that upon collapsing the middle section, as shown in Figure 4, its overall length will be less than when the same is extended so that the collapsed section may be housed or stored between the top and bottom sections in a diagonal position.

In addition to such features of collapsing the middle section, the front and rear walls respectively are provided with spring locking means 50 as indicated in Fig. 3. Said springing means are in alignment-with the longitudinal axes of the hook plates 30, depending in spaced opposite relation from the top section. The front and rear walls 38 and 46 are provided with grooves 52 behind the spring locking means 50 in the front and rear walls 88 and 46, respectively, and in line with the plates to permit the sliding therethru of the locking plates 30 of the top section so as to engage the respective spring locks on the middle section and keep the sections in engaged relation with each other.

The upper 4and lower edge of the walls of the middle section are beveled or cut at an incline and over to correspond with surface of the edges of the marginal walls of the outer sections so that when the sections are joined together, a tight closure is effected along said edges.

Depending from the lower edges of the front and rear walls 38 and 46 of the middle section are a pair of depending hook plates 56 of the same construction as those contained in the upper section. Said hook plates are in alignment with the vertical axes of the spring locking means 50 of the middle section and are provided to connect and interlock a lower section consisting of a top wall 60 with marginal walls 62, 64, 66 and 68. Said extending marginal walls are joined together attheir ends in any well known manner to provide a continuous outer side surface and of a construction the same as the upper or top interlocking section already above described. The free edge of the joined walls of said lower section is beveled to conform with the outline of the lower inwardly beveled edge of the middle section when the sections are joined together, as shown in Fig. 2. The front and rear walls 68 and 66 respectively of the lower section contain grooved or slot portions 70 for the insertion therein of the hook plates 56 depending from the front and rear walls of the middle section. The front and rear walls 68 and 66 respectively contain spring locking means 72 on their upper edge to engage the depending hook plates 56 of the middle section.

Sometimes, when there are too many clothes to be packed into the bag, an intermediate or auxiliary section, as shown in Fig. 6, may be used in conjunction with the above described sections to prevent any bulky appearance in the bag. It will be noted that the auxiliary unit contains the same structural features as the middle section above described except that a handle is lacking.

When assembling the bag, the middle section is guided so that the hook plates 56 on the front and rear Walls respectively slide into the grooves 70 of the front and rear walls 68 and 66 respectively of the lower section to be engaged by spring means 72 on said walls. After the bag has been packed, the upper or top section is added to the already joined middle and lower section by guiding hook plates 30 into the respective slotted portions of the front andrear walls 38 and 46 of the middle section to be enga-ged by spring locking means 50. As will be noted from the description and the illustrated drawings, the assembled complementary sections present a compact suit case, in which the marginal walls of the meeting sections are in the same plane.

if the bag is not to be used, the middle and intermediate or auxiliary sections are collapsed as above described, so as to obtain the form indicated in Fig. 5, and enclosed between the top and bottom sections as indicated in Fig. 7. It will be noted that the free edges of the marginal walls of the top and bottom sections are so beveled that when they are interlocked toi gether, a smooth gliding contact is effected.

In the modification illustrated in Figs. 8 to 13 inclusive, the outer sections of the bag can be telescoped into the center or middle section as will be hereinafter shown. In the construction of the modified embodiment, the marginal walls of the top and bottom sections overlap the respective walls of the center section as shown in Figs. 8 and 9. Referring palticularly to the drawings, the front and rear marginal walls 76 and the side walls '78 of the top section 88 have their free edges cut inwardly in the form of ascending steps as shown by tne sectional View of the embodiment in Fig. 9. The top section is of larger overall dimensions than the middle section so that the free edges 77 of the top section extends downwardly along the outer side of the walls of the middle section, as shown in Fig. 9.

The front and rear walls '76 are provided on their exterior with spring locking means 86 and j z slots or grooves for engaging hook plates 88 protruding from the top ends of front and rear walls 82 and 83 respectively of the middle section.v The outer face of the front wall 82 is provided with a handle 90 which is in alignment with the longitudinal axis of said wall. The front and rear walls 82 and 83 are hingedly connected to the end walls 84. It is to be noted that the adjoining ends of the walls are beveled to accommodate the hinge sections on the inner corner of the joined sectie-ns as shown in Fig. 11. The front and reai walls 82 and 83 are also supplied with spring locking means 92 toward the lower marginal edges and are in alignment with the hook plates 88 extending above the upper edge of middle section. The edges of the walls of the middle section are cut away in the form of steps as indicated in Fig. 9, and correspond with the cutaway of the edges of the marginal walls of the outer sections, whereby one complementary section may be telescopically tted against the other. When the middle section is folded for insertion between the'outer sections to form a compact carrying unit, it is tilted at an angle or set inside one of the sections diagonally and the other section is then joined to said first outer section. The middle section, when folded as shown in Fig. 12 is shorter than the inside diagonal length of either outer section and is, therefore, easily retained inside the joined outer sections.

The lower section used for interlocking the middle section consists of the top wall 94, front and rear walls 96 and side walls 98 extending from the marginal edge of top wall 94. The free ends of walls 96 and 98 are cut away toward their inner face to leave an upwardly extending portion 100 or step as shown in Fig. 10, and provide a seat between the outer face of the extending portion 100 and the outer face of the respective walls 96 and 98, on which the free lower edge of the middle section rests when brought into interlocking and telescopic contact. The cutaway of the edge of the marginal walls corresponds vvith the contour of the cutaway of the lower edge of the middle section, as is shown in Fig. 9. The front and rear walls 96 of the lower section have hook plates 102 extending upwardly therefrom whereby to engage with the spring locking means 92 on the front and rear walls of the middle section. It will be noted that the middle section is also collapsible as described with relation to the previously described embodiment illustrated by Figs. 1 to 7 inclusive. In the present modification, there is also provided an intermediate or auxiliary section as disclosed by Fig. 13, and which has the same structure as the middle section, except that a handle is lacking.

From the foregoing description taken in connection with the drawings, I have provided a simply constructed and easily assembled bag or clothes container consisting of complementary interlocking sections. By constructing the different sections and joining them together by suitable locking means, a rigidly secured bag unit is obtained which is compact and of neat and uniformly even appearance. Furthermore, the component sections can be easily joined together without requiring the use of straps or other cumbersome means to prevent bulging of the side walls as is characteristic of bags now in use.

Furthermore, additional sections may be used Where required Without detracting from the uniform and symmetrical appearance of the bag as a whole. The sections are easily kept in engagement by the use of interlocking means provided on the front and rear walls of the respective sections. Moreover, the meeting edges of the respective sections are cut-away so that the edges of one section will correspond and conform with the cut-away of the edge of the next interlocking section. This allows for easy contact thereof Without requiring much effort to get the closing means of each section into interlocked po'- sition.

Another advantage of the invention in its preferred embodiments is when they are not in use, the middle and additional or auxiliary sections, being easily collapsible and of smaller size when folded than the outer sections, can be easily retained by enclosing them within the space provided by bringing together the upper and lower sections and locking them. It will be evident therefore that if the bag is empty, the middle and intermediate auxiliary sections may be collapsed and contained between the outer sections. This feature of the invention is highly desirable, particularly when the empty bag is to be carried or stored away. By collapsing said sections and enclosing them between the outer sections, a small and compact unit is obtained which is easy to carry around without drawing the attention of people as is the case when one carries a bulky lugging bag now.

While I have shown and described various embodiments of my invention which I have found practical and put into use as being of an elongated structural shape, still it is hereby understood that various modifications as to form, size, structure, material and features may be used Without departing from the spirit and scope of the invention. Reservation is made of all the essential features of the invention.

I claim:

1. A traveling bag comprising a top section, a bottom section, and an intermediate collapsible section having a. front and a rear wall, said intermediate sections having side walls permanently hinged inwardly of their forward ends to the inner face of the front wall at the respective ends thereof and removably hinged inwardly of their rear ends to the inner face of the rear wall at the respective ends thereof, said side walls being thicker than said front and rear walls, whereby the side walls, when extended, will overlap the respective ends of the front and rear walls, and, when collapsed, the side walls will lie upon the inner face of the front wall and the overall length of said collapsed section will be less than when the same is extended so that the collapsed section may be stored between the top and bottom sections, the side walls being of such thickness that, when extended, the overall length of the collapsible section will substantially equal the length of the top and bottom sections.

2. A traveling bag comprising a top section, a bottom section, and an intermediate collapsible section having a front wall, said intermediate section having side walls permanently hinged inwardly of their ends to the inner face of said front wall at the respective ends thereof and being thicker than said front wall, whereby the side walls, when extended, will overlap the respective ends of the front wall and, when collapsed, the overall length of said collapsed section will be less than when the same is extended so that the collapsed section may be stored between the top and bottom sections, the side walls being of such a thickness that, when extended, the overall length of the front and side walls will substantially equal the length of the top and bottom sections.

SAMUEL I-I. LIFTON. 

